


Keeping Track

by melagan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: sgareversebang, Established Relationship, F/M, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-31
Updated: 2014-05-31
Packaged: 2018-01-27 16:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1716626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melagan/pseuds/melagan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a long absence Jennifer Keller returns to the city of Atlantis with the ex-tracker Kiryk in tow. It doesn't take long for John and Rodney to talk Kiryk into helping them with their latest project.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Keeping Track

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Neverwas](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1717460) by [neevebrody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/neevebrody/pseuds/neevebrody). 



> Many thanks go to the help and advice of my betas [ mischief5](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mischief5/pseuds/mischief5) and [mezzo_cammin](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mezzo_cammin/pseuds/mezzo_cammin).
> 
>   
> Art Preview
> 
> [](http://s65.photobucket.com/user/pf_shamrock/media/neverwas_preview.jpg.html)  
> 

John caught Rodney looking at the clock for the seventh time in as many minutes. With a wry smile, he asked, "What do you say we go down to the gate room now? Just in case she's early."

"I doubt that will be the case." Rodney jumped up and scooped up his laptop. "But if it will make you feel better, sure."

John barely had time to holster his sidearm before Rodney was out the door. 

"Seriously?" Rodney said, as they walked down the hall, pointing to John's thigh holster. "You're bringing a sidearm? Don't you think there'll be enough marines with big guns in the gate room already?" 

John shrugged. "Can't be too careful."

"For God's sake, it's Jennifer Keller! She's probably pulled more bullets out of you than you have in that piece."

"I know it's Jennifer, Rodney, but she's bringing company that we don't know well enough to trust. She's also been gone for eighteen months."

"You think she's been compromised in some way?" Rodney stared at John, disbelief written all over his face. 

"I'm saying," John answered, "we don't know for sure. She went running off with this guy only two days after he showed up on Atlantis and this was after—"

Rodney grabbed John's arm. "Stop right there. You know why she went."

"I do. But don't you think it's a little strange that the only contact we've had with her, in all that time, is through the alpha site? She hasn't set foot back on Atlantis, not once." John held up his hand to keep Rodney from interrupting. "And she was only at the site long enough to pick up medical supplies."

"Supplies Woolsey approved," Rodney pointed out. 

John nodded. "Yeah, and I agreed with his reasons, but that's no excuse not to be careful now." 

Rodney's mouth turned down at the corner. He wasn't happy but he stopped arguing. "Fine," he said. "Do what you have to do. Only, John, try not to make her jumpy. We'll never find out what she wants if she's too nervous to tell us."

John bared his teeth in a parody of a smile. "Sure, whatever you say, pal." He was almost certain he heard Rodney mutter, _possessive bastard_ as he stepped into the transporter. John's smile grew wider.

~*~

The whole team was gathered in the gate room. John exchanged a glance with Ronon, silently divvying up their responsibilities. He knew by the subtle tilt of Ronon's head, he'd keep a close eye on the former tracker while John would run interference between Rodney and Jennifer Keller. What he didn't expect was the glance Woolsey threw him, complete with one eyebrow diplomatically raised. John wanted to interpret it as approval, even though it probably meant anything but.

Then Woolsey mouthed the words, 'my office later' and John knew the jig was up before it started. Damn it. He'd have to alter his game plan. He could; he knew Teyla would help and Radek would, too. Carson probably would as well, if he pitched it right. Or maybe he could tell Woolsey the truth. Nah.

He turned attention back to the group gathering around the gate like a homecoming party. John was honest enough to admit the past still stuck in his craw. Whether she'd intended to or not, Jennifer had left Rodney in a tailspin when she left. It didn't help that she took off with barely a word to anyone. Woolsey knew, and Chuck of course, since he'd dialed the gate. But the rest of them didn't find out until the morning report. 

He tried to give her the benefit of the doubt. Almost had himself convinced that she hadn't realized she was stringing Rodney, or Ronon, along. Yeah, that idea didn't stick. Not when she didn't come back and not when Rodney stood in front of him, hangdog expression on his face and pathetically asking, "What did I do wrong?" 

Rodney hadn't done a goddamn thing wrong in John's opinion and he'd told him so. Rodney was too smart to fall for platitudes. Saying things like, _there's other fish in the sea_ didn't cut it. John absently rubbed his shoulder. Rodney had given him a good punch there, glowering, and saying, "You'd better not imply there's anything wrong with my rod, Sheppard." But he'd laughed afterward, and later on, John had taken the time to make sure Rodney knew everything that he did right.

At least Rodney and Ronon had shown enough common sense not to let her come between them as teammates. Even now, just thinking about the disaster it could have turned into made John's stomach roil. 

For two weeks, Ronon and Rodney had jostled each other along, each trying to get her attention in their own unique way. They'd kept it to a friendly rivalry. Ronon brought her some kind of fur-rag purse and Rodney fixed it so that the city piped music into her room. Neither went well. The fur gave her a rash and Rodney forgot to ask what kind of music she liked. There was also the little detail of volume control.

John had to give her credit, though. In her own way, Keller was a trooper. She carried that damn purse around, wearing gloves the whole time. The look on Rodney's face when he found out she'd been avoiding her room as much as she could and wearing earplugs when she couldn't – that stuck in John's mind.

In a way, it was a relief when she left with Kiryk. Ronon and Rodney stopped circling like two dogs trying to get at one bone. Ronon, well, he seemed to shake it off in a few days. It took Rodney longer. 

He and Rodney spent more than a few nights with just the two of them and a six-pack under the stars of the south pier. They talked. Eventually, every rejection that Rodney had ever endured came spilling out in a long string of booze-enable d confessions. Sometimes, Rodney's broad, warm hand landed on John's thigh as he tried to correct himself from leaning too close into John's space. Over the course of nights, the more they talked, the smaller that personal space became. 

When all was said and done, Rodney's bottom line revealed that Keller wasn't the worst by a long shot. But she was the most recent and the most cavalier. John wanted to protect Rodney from going through something like that again, and he would. He'd find a way to do it no matter what Woolsey had to say. 

Shaking the knot out of his fist, John made himself focus on the present as the chevrons began their circular dance, drawing everyone's eyes to the gate. Good. Dr. Keller and her companion, Kiryk, were right on time. As far as John was concerned, the sooner this visit started, the sooner it would be over. 

The event horizon died and Teyla stepped forward, smiling in welcome. She held her hands out to Jennifer, who beamed back at her with a wide smile. Rodney stepped up right behind her, also grinning from ear to ear.

Ronon held himself back, folded his arms across his chest, and glared at Kiryk until Jennifer rolled her eyes. After that, Ronon relaxed enough to bare his teeth in what John took for a smile. 

As for himself, he sauntered up to the couple as if he didn't have a care in the world. He stepped between Rodney and Keller, forcing Rodney to take a step back. "Glad you could make it, Dr. Keller, Kiryk," John said. "It's been a while."

"Indeed it has," Woolsey said. "Long enough I'm afraid that we require both of you to go to the infirmary for a routine scan. I'm sure you understand, Dr. Keller. But after that, we can get down to business. I've been going over some of your requests," Woolsey continued as they all walked out of the gate room, "and, with a few exceptions…well, we'll talk about that later."

"We have cake!" Rodney pointed at himself. "My idea," he said proudly.

"Yes," Teyla said. "Of course, we had meant it to be a surprise." 

"Um, yes," Rodney admitted. "But cake! And still my idea!"

"Thank you," Jennifer said. "It's been a long time since I've had cake." 

Kiryk's hand came down and rested on the small of her back as Jennifer turned to smile up at him. "Cake," she said, "I love cake. It's like a taste explosion in my mouth."

~*~

Ronon and Kiryk circled each other in a game of parry and thrust, or, as Ronon liked to call it, defeat or die. John called it Daily Bruising and McKay just called it _You have got to be kidding._ But Ronon could tell Kiryk understood. Survival was the name of the game. Mercy could get you killed.

The snap and clack of their sticks hitting in a flurry of blows echoed down the hall followed by a moment of quiet as they backed off, regrouped, and each planned their next attack. 

Ronon waited, casually swinging his bantos rod, as Kiryk wiped away the sweat on his forehead. 

"I'd rather just shoot you," Kiryk said, tossing the towel aside. "Be quicker."

"Yeah, same here." Ronon twirled the sticks with intent and grinned.

"So, why are we doing this again?" Kiryk asked. 

"You can't depend on always having a gun or your fancy transport device." Ronon brought his stick down in a swift, unexpected attack, but Kiryk blocked him with ease. 

"This is a test." Kiryk shifted his weight on the balls of his feet. He lacked Teyla's grace, but Ronon had to admit, Kiryk was quick. Ronon blocked the next thrust but not before the leading edge caught his bicep, leaving a shallow scratch.

"You want to see how well I can protect her from an attack." This time, it was Kiryk who grinned. "I haven't had any complaints from Jennifer, so I think I'm taking care of her just fine."

"Take a break." Ronon tossed a water bottle to Kiryk. After a long swallow from his own, he asked, "So, what's it like?"

"Being with Jennifer? Or being out there trying to save orphaned kids?" 

"Both," Ronon said.

"You miss her, and I understand that, but you need to understand that she's doing something important and she's good at it. Really good." His eyes took on a faraway look. "You should see her. She's got this knack for getting even the most scared kid to come out of hiding. They instinctively trust her. Maybe it's how she talks to them, all soft and gentle. Maybe," he shook his head, "it's because she's not much bigger than they are."

"You've rescued a lot of kids?"

"Nine so far. The Wraith have been busy."

Ronon nodded. "There's too many Wraith awake at one time. Sheppard thinks we can use it against them though. Get them to start fighting each other again. He and McKay have been working on some plan since we got back from Earth."

Kiryk walked over to the window and stared out over the cityscape. "The city of the Ancients. I never thought I'd see it. It's an impressive place." He absently rubbed at his arm where the transport device usually rested. "What we really need is to find permanent homes for them. Jennifer thinks it could be here."

"You don't agree." 

"I think it's too different. These kids need the kind of place they're used to. Families that will take them in, treat them like their own."

"Could be tough. Teyla's people probably would have, until they went missing."

"I heard that they were found," Kiryk said.

"Some of them, sure. But they're not ready to take care of any extra kids." Ronon stood next to Kiryk, staring out at the same view. "Their best fighters are still weak, barely able to protect their own. Beckett called it a relapse. Is that what you want for these kids?" 

In a soft, pain-roughened voice, Ronon continued, "Years ago, my people would have taken them but they're too few and too scattered now. Maybe one day, some will go back to Sateda, but that won't help you now."

Kiryk reached out, giving Ronon's shoulder a brief, tight squeeze. "When you are ready to rebuild Sateda, call. It would be my honor to help." Turning to stare back out across the ocean, he asked, "And Atlantis?"

"As far as Woolsey agreeing to let them stay in the city, I wouldn't hold my breath. Mr. Woolsey doesn't seem overly fond of kids."

~*~

Teyla and Jennifer walked towards the mess hall. Jennifer kept looking back over her shoulder where Kiryk and Ronan had left them to go to the gym. "Do you think the two of them…?"

"I think they will be fine," Teyla said, guiding Jennifer along by the elbow. "Let them work out their restlessness; it will give us a chance to talk."

"If you say so," Jennifer reluctantly agreed. "I guess living in the city is hard for both of them. Gone too native for city living, I suppose, after years of being chased by the Wraith."

"Gone native?" Teyla raised an eyebrow at that. "What about yourself, Jennifer? You've been away from Atlantis a long time. Have you gone native as well?"

Jennifer grew quiet. The absence of an answer told Teyla all she needed to know.

They picked up their tea and moved to a quiet table with a view. For long moments, Jennifer stared out over the ocean, lost in thought. With a wistful sigh, she turned to Teyla and said, "Maybe you're right. I'm not sure I fit in here anymore. "

"Are you happy?" Teyla asked.

"Well, I miss hot showers and Chinese food, but you know, I think I am. When I first arrived, I wondered how Rodney could feel so at home here in Atlantis. John too, and you. All of you took to living here like ducks to water. But I always felt out of my depth here. "

"I agree with you about John and Rodney. Living in Atlantis is like breathing air to them. But, as for myself, I admit there are moments I find it wearing. Going off-world helps, as does spending time with my people." She smiled gently at Jennifer. "Being gone for a time helps me to appreciate coming back. You don't find this to be true?"

Jennifer shook her head. "Not really. I found something out there that I never expected. Feel free to laugh at me, you've certainly seen me at my worst, and I must sound pretty ridiculous to you."

"I will only admit it is surprising. You seemed quite overwhelmed at the time, and now here you are, anxious to return off-world."

Jennifer offered a half-smile in return. "I know what you must be thinking. It's even hard for me to believe. Oh, don't get me wrong, it's nice to take a break from it all. The guys at the Alpha site are great, babysitting so we didn't have to bring the kids with us. I still can't believe they volunteered to do that."

"Go on," Teyla prompted.

"Naturally, I do miss everyone here, and my family back on Earth of course, but what I'm doing, Teyla, leaves me more satisfied than anything I've ever done. We've saved these kids and given them a chance when they had none. When I see their faces…"

"When you see their faces, you know this is what you must continue to do. Truly, I understand this feeling." Teyla picked up her cup in salute. "It is a noble endeavor and I wish you great success." She sat her cup back down and grew serious again. "It saddens me that, in all this time, you've found so few. The culling across worlds must be severe."

"Usually, we find a few adults, the ones who took the kids into hiding. Of course, they want the kids to stay with them. One thing I've learned in the Pegasus galaxy, the people here are very independent. So, I give them what medical care I can, and Kiryk does what he can to help them start to rebuild. Sometimes, the guys from the Alpha site give us a hand. Mr. Woolsey's been great at throwing his support behind us."

"Can you tell me more about the children?" Teyla asked. 

"Sure." Jennifer agreed, with a twinkle in her eye. "As long as you tell me about Kanaan and Torren John."

"I think I can manage to do that," Teyla agreed with a smile of her own.

"Well, you can probably guess, it began with Celise, the little girl that Kiryk saved. She was the lone survivor in her village when Kiryk rescued her. I'm sure Rodney or Ronon has told you the story of how I got dragged into it."

"They did," Teyla said. "And that you disabled Kiryk's tracking device. That was clever. I think Rodney was impressed."

"I don't know about clever. It's not like I had options. Still, it's nice to know it impressed Rodney. How is…" She waved her hand like brushing away a thought. "Anyway, after that, Kiryk got this whole white-knight notion to keep looking for more orphans. Kids abandoned because of the cullings – ones that had no one else who could help."

"Mr. Woolsey mentioned that. I still remember when Lorne and Ronon found Kiryk, and brought him back to Atlantis," Teyla said. "They found him in the same village where he kidnapped you from. By all reports, he wanted to be found."

Jennifer shot her a sheepish look. "He was looking for me. To see if I'd help. And, of course, he wanted to see Celise. The big lummox didn't want to admit he missed her, but anyone with half a brain could see he did."

"Which doesn't truly explain why, after being on Atlantis for only two days, you went with him when he left." 

"It seemed like a good idea at the time? Just kidding. Honestly, Teyla, I didn't know it then, but it turned out to be the best thing I've ever done."

"Where are you staying when you're not at the Alpha site?" Teyla asked. "I would love to come visit."

"Ah, that's just it. We're like a caravan of gypsies, only without the caravans – that is to say, it's a very nomadic lifestyle. It's not a stable way to raise these children when they've already lost so much. I'm hoping Mr. Woolsey can help with that."

Teyla was about to point out that her own people had been uprooted, more than once and often by their own choice, in an attempt to avoid the Wraith. She held her tongue, however, when John picked that moment to walk into the cafeteria. 

He sauntered over to their table with an easy grace. "Hello, ladies," he drawled, "you're just the two I've been looking for."

To Teyla's discerning eye, John looked the same as ever. Same black shirt, same unruly hair. Same way that he cocked his hip, when he leaned against the table, but Jennifer was inspecting him from head to toe, as though he were a rare beast.

"Have you been on vacation?" Jennifer asked. "Won the lottery? Taken up meditation? I don't remember ever seeing you this relaxed."

"Naw, it must be my healthy lifestyle and boyish charm. And please don't ever mention meditation again. Been there, didn't keep the t-shirt. Hey, can you bring Kiryk to Rodney's lab when you ladies finish up here?"

"Has Rodney finished fixing Kiryk's wrist transport already?" Jennifer asked.

"I don't know about that," John answered. "He did mention a couple of upgrades. I'm sure he'll be done soon and have it working better than new. But that's not what he wants to talk to you and Kiryk about." 

John looked at his watch with no attempt at subtlety. "I have a couple things I have to do. Say we meet in Rodney's lab in an hour?" 

When Jennifer nodded her agreement, he straightened up, clapping his hands together. "All right then, it's a game plan. I'll just leave you two for now and let Rodney know when to expect everyone. You know how the man loves his time tables."

John ambled over to the kitchen buffet and began to load up two trays. After he left, Jennifer turned to Teyla and asked, "When did John start drinking that much coffee? That can't possibly be good for him. Did you see the size of that mug? It's practically a thermos."

"I suspect he is bringing coffee and lunch to Rodney," Teyla said.

"Wow, I wonder whose ass Rodney had to kiss to get that kind of personal catering from the CO of Atlantis."

"Ah, yes, that. I admit to spending some time imagining that answer myself." Teyla smiled over her cup of tea. "Now then, as I was saying, John is not the only one that seems more relaxed. You seem happier as well." She raised an eyebrow. "Might some of this happiness stem from your friendship with Kiryk?" 

"Oh." A flush rose in Jennifer's cheeks. "It's possible... promise me you won't say anything. I have no idea how he feels about me, and I don't want to make things awkward between us."

"Very well. But I believe it would be wise to let him how you feel. Don't wait as long as…ah, perhaps that is a story for another day. You asked about my family," Teyla reminded her. "Kanaan is back and nearly himself again. As for Torren John, he is the joy of my life, but for a few weeks, I believed I would never get a full night's sleep again." She looked out the window at the position of the sun. "And I expect he has woken from his nap by now and is looking for his mother."

Teyla and Jennifer walked back to the set of rooms where Teyla lived with her small family. As she'd hoped, Jennifer agreed to check on Kanaan's physical condition. 

As they stepped inside her quarters, she noticed Jennifer's eyes widen in surprise. 

"Wow, I can't believe what you've done with the place," Jennifer said. Teyla watched as her gaze took in the rugs and candles, the bright, woven hangings, and Torren John's hand-carved cradle. "I'm amazed at how different this looks from – well, the usual quarters. It's very homey." 

"Thank you, Jennifer. If you should like help setting up something like this for the children, my people would be glad to help. It might be easier for them if their surroundings were less military than what the marines at the Alpha site can provide."

"I would like that," Jennifer said. "And right now, I would like Kanaan to take his shirt off. So that I can listen to his heart, I mean."

"I was sure that was what you meant." Grinning, Teyla took the baby and waited patiently while Jennifer finished her exam.

"Where is Carson? I was hoping to see him," Jennifer asked, tucking her stethoscope back in her pocket.

"He's due to return from off-world later today," Kanaan answered. "Without his help, I and my people…"

"We have missed him," Teyla said, picking up where Kanaan left off. "He has been gone this past week, helping the villagers of P34-827. I will be glad for his return. Other than you, Jennifer, there is no one Kanaan, or I, trust as much with his recovery."

"Oops, I guess being gone so long hasn't helped with that," Jennifer said, wincing. 

Picking up Torren John, Kanaan stood and put one arm around Teyla. "From what I understand, you are the one who persevered and found the treatment to bring Dr. Beckett back to health." He smiled. "Your _oops_ is unnecessary." 

"I don't think anyone has ever told me my –oops– was unnecessary before. Thanks for that," Jennifer said. A glimmer of a tiny smile peeked out before she turned back to business. "Now then, from what I can see, Kanaan, you're back to your old self. I'd still like to run a couple of scans and get a closer look at what's been going on at the cellular level."

"Perhaps, after the meeting in Rodney's lab?" Teyla asked.

"It's a plan." Jennifer looked back and forth between the two of them. "Does anyone else wonder what the hell those two are up to?"

~*~

Rodney braced his hand on the console and pushed. His hand slipped and he would have fallen on his face, but John was there, grabbing the back of his shirt and yanking him to his feet.

"What are you doing down there?" John asked. "I thought you were working on Kiryk's wrist transport. Aren't you supposed to be giving it a power boost or something?"

"Yes. I'm getting to that, but wanted to run another test on this thing before everyone gets here." Rodney held up an organic -looking device that spanned the palm of his hand.

"Now that's ugly," John said.

"Well, this little device, something I like to call the Communications Wavelength Modifier," Rodney said, waving it under John's nose, "is going to help us start a Wraith civil war."

"Cool." 

"Yes, Sheppard, cool. Condense three weeks of labor and innovation into a one-word dismissal." A second later he completely forgot about being offended and beamed back at John, nearly bouncing in his seat. "It really is cool, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," John said, grinning back. "But I say we name it later."

Rodney completely ignored John's suggestion, instead asking, "Hey, have you seen Jennifer around?" 

He peered over John's shoulder, as if he could see her hiding behind him. "Don't you think it's odd she hasn't been by to talk to me yet?"

"Naw. She knows you're a busy man, Rodney."

"Well, it's just… I happen to know she's been making the rounds and talking to everyone…you don't think she's avoiding me, do you?"

"Of course not. Think about it, Rodney, it only makes sense she'd talk to the medical staff first and get her meeting with Woolsey out of the way." 

"Oh. That's surprisingly reasonable. I wonder why I didn't think of that?"

"Chin up, McKay." John gave Rodney a gentle punch in the arm. "You've been using your genius to plot war; I think you can be forgiven for not thinking of everything. Besides, she has talked to us, remember? She and Kiryk both did right after they came through the gate. Plus, she's coming by in a few minutes with Teyla, Ronon, and Kiryk."

Rodney blew that comment off with a wave of his hand. "She talked to us and she'll still be talking to us. I mean she hasn't been around to talk to just me." He narrowed his eyes at John. "You didn't warn her off? No, no, of course not, that's ridiculous."

"Completely ridiculous," John agreed, looking everywhere but at Rodney.

~*~

Dragging Kiryk by the hand, Jennifer stepped into the main lab; Teyla and Ronon were right behind them.

John waved them over. "Glad you guys could all make it."

Rodney sat in front of a computer and John stood at his back. Their dinner trays lay discarded on one end of the workbench and Rodney's ever-present coffee mug was empty. It was clear something interesting had taken all of John and Rodney's attention. 

"What's up?" Ronon asked. "From the look on your face, Sheppard, McKay must have come up with a new weapon."

"Something like that, yeah," John admitted. "You interested?"

Jennifer got an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach when she realized John was directing his question at Kiryk. Kiryk however, perked up like a kid offered ice cream.

"If you're talking about a weapon against the Wraith, of course I'm interested." He leaned in for a closer look at the device in Rodney's hands. "Is that little thing really a weapon?"

"You haven't heard the best part," John rocked up on his toes and grinned. "With that little device, we can implant or override Wraith radio chatter and make it seem like one hive intends to attack or take over a rival hive. We know from past experience it doesn't take that much to get them to fire on each other. This will give us that edge."

"You can do that?" Kiryk asked.

John nodded. "Rodney's been working on a device to intercept and override their communiques ever since we got back from Earth."

Rodney held up the device. It may have been roughly the size of a life-signs detector, but any similarity ended there. The material appeared organic with a greenish-grey cast to it. "As you can see," he said, "I've designed it to blend in with its surroundings, which, for our needs, is a Wraith cruiser." 

"Why a cruiser?" Jennifer asked. "Why not a Hive ship?"

"A cruiser's large enough for what we need but less likely to have a queen on board," John answered. He leaned over and gingerly touched one of the controller's tendrils. "Looks like some kind of big bug." He shuddered in mock disgust, but as he straightened up, his hand lingered on Rodney's shoulder.

Jennifer's own attempt to poke at the device failed, blocked by John's body. Worse, he acted as if he never noticed she was trying to get close, refusing to budge an inch. Finally giving up, she patiently asked," How does this work?"

"Yes, well…certain events happened after you left." The back of John's fingers brushed Rodney's arm. Rodney took a deep, calming breath and continued. "Some time ago, Todd worked with us on a project, which I can't go into detail about. Suffice to say, it was necessary to give him access to our computers. Somehow he hacked our security, which we didn't find out until later."

"But," John interrupted, "Rodney found a way to use that."

The tense line of Rodney's shoulders relaxed and he nodded, full of fresh enthusiasm. "Yes. Turns out Todd is a dirty coder. I've been able to, with Radek's help, and –" He cleared his throat. "– significant help from the Ancient database, recover enough of the Wraith codex to mimic it and key into their communication system."

"Yep," John said, "Once we get this baby planted in its new location, we can send any message we want and make it look like it originated from a rival hive."

"You intend to incite hostilities," Teyla said. "Good. I would like to see that."

"There's just one problem," Rodney said, sliding a glance in John's direction. "What we need is a way to plant this onto one of their ships and get control over their communications channel."

"How did you plan to get it onto a Wraith ship?" Ronon asked.

"I have an idea about that." John looked directly at Kiryk. "Although, I'm not sure you're going to like it."

The corner of Kiryk's mouth turned up in a sardonic, knowing half-smile. "You want me to jump in, set the device, and get out."

"What? No!" Jennifer protested, her hands clenched into white-knuckled fists. "That's a terrible idea." She glared at John. "You're right, Colonel, I don't like this idea at all."

"I'd do it," Ronon said.

Kiryk nodded toward the device. "How long before that's ready?"

"I still have some tweaks to make on your wrist transporter. It won't take long." He pointed to the device and beamed. "But the _communications wavelength modifier_ is done now."

John shook his finger at the so-called modifier and smirked. "Rodney means his _chat bandit_ is good to go." John clapped his hands together. "So, gang, who wants in?"

Jennifer had a horrible feeling that trying to stop this would be like trying to stop a runaway train. "I'm not going to be able to talk any of you out of this, am I?" She folded her arms across her chest and lifted her chin, unaware of how Rodney-esque it appeared or of the startled look on John's face. "If I can't talk any of you out of this, I'm going with you."

"Are you sure you want to do that?" Kiryk asked. 

"I'm sure I don't," she said. "But I might have an idea that will help."

~*~

Jennifer and Kiryk joined the others in the conference room. Mr. Woolsey and the others had already arrived and were waiting. Smiling, Rodney gallantly pulled a chair out for her, blithely ignoring the way Kiryk glared at him.

Rodney took his own seat next to John and, with a nod, let Woolsey know they were ready to begin.

"As I understand it," Woolsey began, "all of you have already been briefed on the device developed by Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka and its potential usefulness. I'd like Colonel Sheppard to go over some of the finer points in this plan with all of us. Colonel Sheppard, I believe it's especially important that you cover all of the risks involved." 

John sat up straighter in his seat. "Everyone already knows about the device Rodney built, the _chat bandit_ , and what it can do. The difficult part is actually getting it aboard the ship. Rodney has made modifications to Kiryk's wrist transport that should help us with that."

Woolsey paused to make a notation on his list, "Dr. McKay, please, tell us about that."

Rodney turned his laptop screen so that everyone could see the display. "I've increased the range to half a kilometer." He looked at John. 

"That's not a very big window, McKay," John protested. "That's the best you could do?"

"I know it's tight flying, Sheppard, but yes, that was the best I could do without requiring line-of-sight. Any farther is even more of a risk. And yes, you'll have to stay in close proximity to the hive cruiser the entire time just to make sure we're in the right position to get him back. But you can do it, right?"

"Close proximity? Are we talking – any closer and I'd need to buy it an engagement ring closer?" John held up his hand. "I know, and I agree. A longer jump would be too dangerous. Just tell me where we need to be and I can get us there."

"Okay, good. Lorne and Radek have located a ship," Rodney continued. "It's just our good luck that it's hovering in orbit over P13-778. Why, I don't know, but I suggest we do this before it leaves orbit."

"Supplies," Ronon said. 

"Lorne indicated that the planet is uninhabited. Why go there?" Teyla asked. 

"Plenty of game and fresh water for the Wraith worshippers." Ronon showed his teeth. "To fatten them up for a long haul."

"Ew. Oh, c'mon," Jennifer said, "don't tell me you weren't thinking that, too!"

"Ah, yes, Dr. Keller, I believe you had something to add?" Woolsey asked. "Ah, not about the Wraith supply run, but something else?"

"Yes. I did." Jennifer suddenly wished she had something to do with her hands – a stethoscope to fiddle with or a suture to perform. She settled for clasping her hands tightly in front of her. "Remember when we were exposed to the pathogen that almost turned me into a hive ship?"

"What?" Kiryk looked skeptical until he took in the expressions of everyone sitting at the table. "How is that possible?" 

"That's not important right now," Jennifer said, smiling weakly. "What is important is that there are some things that I remember from that experience – things that can help you survive this mission."

"Why didn't you tell us that before?" John leaned forward, his voice dropped low and just a hair away from an accusation, "That's information we might have been able to use against the Wraith."

"I couldn't remember anything at first, and when I started to…to be honest, I just wanted to forget that whole, horrible episode." She turned to Rodney and passed him a flash drive. "Please bring that up on the large screen. It's a blueprint of everything I remember about how the hive is laid out."

"How –?" Rodney began.

Jennifer shrugged. "It tried to overwrite my skeletal structure with the hive's organic framework. I could feel the exact layout of every cell and corridor." She stood and pointed to the computer image. Tracing a space lying near the center of the ship's diagram, she added, "This area is where you need to place Rodney's device for optimal effect."

"Yes," Rodney said, head bobbing in agreement, "that's exactly where we'd planned. Well, hypothesized, as the best option."

"All of this is just dandy," John interrupted, "but there's something else you're not telling us."

"Yes, Colonel Sheppard, there is." She pointed to the display again, barely keeping her hand from trembling. "These three areas have – I guess you could call them neural stalks. You can't miss them, they're grown from the floor up and web out across the ceiling."

Judging from the silence in the room, her revelation went over about as well as she expected. With the same spine of iron that made her a successful surgeon, she steadied her voice, straightened her shoulders, and continued. "Cut into any one of these stalks deeply enough and it will set off a biometric sequence that starts the hibernation stupor."

The stunned silence continued for another thirty seconds, and then the questions began. Everyone wanted to know more about what she remembered. What could they learn from her experience? How could they use it against the Wraith? Why didn't she tell them sooner? She took it patiently, and tried to answer as many questions as she could, but there was so much she didn't understand herself and only so many ways she could say, "I don't know." 

Tears of frustration threatened to spill and she turned to Kiryk. He moved so that he stood between her and everyone else and folded his arms across his chest like a silent, solid wall of protection. Catching her eye, he cocked his head toward the door urging her to leave. Jennifer didn't wait to see what happened. She fled, and ran straight to home ground – her infirmary.

~*~

"Guess, technically, you're not my infirmary anymore." Jennifer trailed her fingertips of the edges the Ancient scanners. "But you're in good hands with Carson."

"Thank you, love."

"Carson! I didn't hear you come in." 

He walked up to her, holding a bag in one hand, and gave her a one-armed hug. "It's good to see you, lass. How are you? I heard you had a wee meltdown in the conference room."

"Can't we just please forget about that?"

With an easy nod, Carson handed her the bag. "Lollypops for the wee lads and lassies. I thought they'd like a bit of sweet." He guided her over to a seat. "You still seem a mite shaken. I take it the meeting was a rough go? You can hide out here as long as you like."

"They're asking me questions about things I don't remember. Worse, Colonel Sheppard refuses to let me go on this mission. And I don't think Mr. Woolsey is going to let me start a school here." She refused to cry, but it felt so good to talk to Carson again she could feel tears pricking at her eyes.

He handed her a tissue. "Why don't we talk over one problem at a time, hmm? I can't do much for your memory, and I doubt I can change the Colonel's mind, he's a right stubborn one, but you can tell me what Mr. Woolsey had to say."

"Oh god, I'm bothering you, aren't I?" she asked, horrified, finally noticing that Carson was in civvies, wearing a tweedy, green sweater, soft, grey pants, and slippers on his feet.

Blue eyes twinkled back at her. "Not at all. I was just finishing up a spot of tea and writing a letter to my mum. I know I can't actually tell her where I am or what I'm doing, but I find it helps me to write out my reports if I do it like I'm writing a letter home." He reached out and patted her hand. "I wouldn't miss the chance for us to have a chat for all the world. Now, then, sit and tell me what else is on your mind."

It was ridiculously easy to talk to Carson. He was one of the kindest people she knew and all of her worries, all of the stress of the last eighteen months, came spilling out in a rush of words. 

"They won't let me go with them because everyone's creeped out," Jennifer began. "They're all acting like I'm going to mindmeld with the Wraith cruiser and eat them all. Jeeze. That's not…I mean, that couldn't happen, right?"

"I sincerely doubt it. As for the rest, it seems to me, that you and your friend, Kiryk, are doing a heck of a job. You're out there helping where no one else can. To me, that seems like something you should be proud of. I understand Mr. Woolsey's point, too. The city still has a lot of unexplored areas. I shouldn't have to tell you how many have died because of that."

"I thought Atlantis went to Earth?" she asked. "Didn't it get explored then?

"Sadly, no. We were all a might wrapped up in saving the planet at the time. And then we were back here in two shakes of a lamb's tail." Seeing the expression on her face, he clarified, "Well, it was longer than that and it did take some finagling, but we weren't on Earth as long as you might think. Rodney's been an impossible braggart about it, but I think it had more to do with Teyla's diplomacy and General O'Neill's influence."

"I didn't know." She pushed a stray hair behind her ear, and sheepishly looked back at Carson. "I think I might owe Mr. Woolsey an apology."

~*~

Ronon figured he had a lot more experience with a Wraith ship than Kiryk did. As far as he knew, for Kiryk it had been one time only – the day he the Wraith captured him and made him a runner.

The transport worked, but they needed to figure out a better way for a team to use it. The way they'd gotten here, arms wrapped around each other, didn't leave his gun hand free and left their backs exposed. It was a bad way to go into enemy territory. 

This place looked like every other Wraith ship he'd been on, and as soon as he realized there was no enemy within sight, Ronon breathed a silent sigh of relief. It made sense. Why expend energy on patrols if you were certain your base was secure? 

Sheppard called the Wraith overconfident. Rodney argued that it was justified overconfidence, but everyone knew it was token resistance. He nearly always went along with Sheppard's plans anyway, tossing his natural reluctance to the wind. As far as Ronon knew, the 'Lantians were the only ones gee-ga brained enough to want to board a hive ship. Everyone else had the common sense to run as far away as possible. Damn, he loved his team. 

"What are you grinning about now?" Kiryk whispered. 

"That we're crazy for doing this."

"You're whole team is crazy, you realize that, right? It's a miracle any of you are still alive."

"Yeah. Wouldn't have it any other way." 

Kiryk had his six and he took point. According to Jennifer's map, they were already close. Ronon hoped their hibernation plan actually worked, or they were screwed. Behind him, Kiryk's unease rolled off him in waves so thick it made the hairs on the back of Ronon's neck stand on end. 

Unlike Kiryk, this wasn't his second or even third go-round in Wraith territory, and Ronon wanted the guy watching his back to be alert, not twitchy. He knew Sheppard talked to McKay – kept him distracted so he didn't panic. Maybe he could do the same.

"What else is on your mind?" Ronon asked, trying to sound casual. Fuck. How did Sheppard make it look so easy?

"What makes you think…?" Kiryk shot him an exasperated look. "You were talking about your team. Dr. McKay seems like an odd choice."

"Can't disagree with that."

"But he is still on your team."

"McKay's not as useless as he looks," Ronon said. "He's a decent shot when he doesn't overthink it and he's good at making bombs. He's braver then you'd expect too, but don't tell him I said that. Why do you want to know about him, anyway?"

"Jennifer talks about him sometimes. She talks about you, too, but it's not the same."

Ronon mulled that over while they looked for the neural stalk. They didn't have to look long. Turning a corner, it loomed in front of them, not more than twenty paces away. 

Kiryk came to a halt, his gaze travelling up the length of the stalk. "This has to be it. Look at the way it's branched out over the ceiling, like a web of veins." 

"Seen it before," Ronon said. "It looks like that stuff that grew on Jennifer and almost took over the city. Watch it. It moves. It knew when we tried to kill it."

They exchanged a look and without another word, Kiryk and Ronon moved to stand on opposite sides of the stalk and raised their knives. 

"She told us to slice deep but not where." Kiryk tested his blade against the stalk. It's spongy surface resisted, forcing him to press in harder. 

Ronon held his long blade at shoulder height. "Push straight through to the middle and down."

A thick, veiny tentacle silently crawled along the deck and began rapidly creeping up Kiryk's back. Ronon watched the man's eyes widen as the end of the vine began to work its way across his throat.

"Now!" Ronon yelled, shoving his blade in deep. 

Struggling against the tentacle choking off his air, Kiryk twisted his arm until he could reach the transport device. He blinked out and reappeared a second later, his knife arcing down and slicing the head of the tentacle off. Without pausing for breath, he plunged his knife into the stalk and raked it downward, mirroring Ronon's own actions.

The stalk gapped open. Its pulpy insides oozed a blood-red sap that dripped slowly down its sides to pool onto the deck.

Gingerly rubbing his throat, Kiryk asked, "Do you think that did it?"

"If it didn't," Ronon answered, "we'll know soon enough. C'mon, let's get McKay's device planted and get out of here." He pointed with his knife. "That way."

"Wait," Kiryk said. "I have to ask. Do you think – that thing – it's part of the ship – do you think it used to be somebody? You know, someone like Jennifer?"

"Does it matter?" Ronon asked. 

Kiryk shook his head in response but his shoulders were tense. His gaze uneasily darted over their surroundings and Ronon needed him to regain his focus.

"I'm not interested in Jennifer. I like someone else. Just thought you'd want to know."

"Good to know." Kiryk's face cleared and he almost smiled.

"You don't need to worry about McKay, either."

"Does he like someone else, too?" Kiryk asked.

"Yeah," Rodney said, "you could say that."

There was no time for any more conversation, for which Ronon was very grateful, because they'd arrived at the communication console. It had the same grayish-green organic look, balanced between growth and rot, of all Wraith tech. 

"Didn't expect that," Kiryk said. There were two drones collapsed on the floor and wraith commander slumped over the console. He slit the throat of the wraith, for good measure, and shoved his body out of the way. "Do you think the whole ship is like this?"

"Don't know." Ronon took the bandit device and placed it deep inside the nearest crevice. Wraith architecture might be butt ugly but it made hiding things easy. "Done. We need to go."

They doubled-timed it back to their arrival point. The signal on the other end of the radio was all they were waiting for. Maybe, one day, he'd tell Rodney how grateful he was to hear his voice. Probably not. Ronon wrapped his arms around Kiryk, the whine of a Wraith stunner in his ears telling him they'd run out of time.

~*~

"Hey, Ronon, buddy, you made it," John said, grinning at him from the puddle jumper's cockpit. "You and Kiryk can let go of each other now."

Ronon dropped his arms from around Kiryk's waist and stepped back. "Shut up, Sheppard." He cleared his throat. "Gotta find a better way to do that."

Rodney rolled his eyes heavenward but he was smiling too. "It works! Well, obviously, it works; you're here. The new range parameters did exactly what they were supposed to do. I don't suppose you're up for more testing?" 

His suggestion was completely ignored, but John doubted that he even noticed. Rodney was already pulling up new specs on the windscreen.

"Great job, guys. Now, let's go home." Once John flew them far enough away to consider it safe, he asked, "Did Jennifer's plan work? Is putting the Wraith back into temporary hibernation something we can use?"

"They didn't stay down long." Ronon answered. "It was just like Jennifer said. We had less than five minutes before they started waking up."

"You don't think there's time for a team to get in there and do some damage with C-4?" John asked, still clinging to hope.

"No, not enough time," Kiryk answered. "Maybe if everyone wore a transport device but since that's not possible, then no, it's not worth the risk."

"See? Told you." Rodney waved the laptop controlling the chat bandit under Sheppard's nose. "My idea was better."

"Yeah, yeah. You know, Rodney, this tendency to gloat of yours is not your best feature." John knew how he sounded: sarcastic and annoyed. He also suspected Ronon noticed how he kept his foot resting against Rodney's the entire flight back. He just wasn't sure if Kiryk did. If so, it was fine with him. As far as John was concerned, the more people that noticed his claim, the better. 

Breaking in on that thought was the sound of Kiryk's stomach growling loud enough that everyone in the puddle jumper heard it. 

"I don't suppose it's time to go have that cake, yet?" he asked. After a pause, proof that he'd been thinking about this for a while, he said, "It's been a long time since I had anything that wasn't grown wild or caught and roasted. Is this Atlantis cake of yours really like a taste explosion in your mouth?"

Rodney turned pink, twisted around to stare out the window, and didn't say another word for the rest of the trip home.

~*~

John hummed a soft tune under his breath as he walked down the hallway. They'd arrived back on Atlantis without a hitch, Rodney was running the chat bandit through its paces, and Chuck was tracking the Wraith cruiser. He'd let John and the rest of them know as soon as it was in range of another hive ship so that they could implement their plan. Teyla's past experience gave her a certain insight for getting one queen to agitate another to the point of war. She'd promised to have suggestions on his desk by morning.

Meanwhile, he and Rodney were planning to celebrate the success of the mission with cake, beer, and stargazing on the south pier. Yep, life was good. 

"Fuck," John swore under his breath when his comm buzzed on the admin's private channel. "Mr. Woolsey," John answered, hand hovering over his headset. "Your office? Now? Roger that."

John closed the connection with a pout. He'd been so sure he'd escaped a dressing down from Woolsey. Well, it wouldn't be a dressing down per se, but John would have to talk and explain himself. He hated that.

He knew it was best to get the meeting over with but he didn't have to be stupid about it, so he made a quick detour on the way. Fifteen minutes later, he knocked on the outside of Woolsey's office door, holding onto a box that he hoped would soften the situation.

"Come right in, Colonel," Woolsey said, as he indicated where he wanted John to sit. "Is that for me?"

"My team found a village that hand rolls these cigars. Naturally, we thought of you. They're not Cubans, but they aren't bad."

"Buttering me up?" Woolsey took the box and put it on his desk. "Officially, I can't approve of that. As a man who's going to run out of cigars before the _Daedalus_ arrives, I think I can grant you some leeway." 

John could see he was tempted to open it, but instead he picked up a pen and clipboard. "I've made note of your reaction to Dr. Keller and Kiryk when they arrived on Atlantis."

"I was just doing my job as military commander. We've only seen Kiryk once before, and only for a couple of days. Most of what we know about him came from Jennifer Keller. You can't tell me that her opinion isn't compromised."

"And yet," Woolsey said, "you put your suspicions aside long enough to depend on him during this last mission."

John sat, fingers drumming on the arms of the chair, trying to figure out what explanation he could pull out of his ass that had a prayer of being believed.

Woolsey watched him and a smile teased the corner of his mouth. "Let me remind you, buttering me up is not going to work." His glance slid over the box of cigars and back to John.

John shrugged. "Can't blame me for trying."

"No, I suppose not, Colonel." Woolsey glanced at his clipboard, and marked something down that John couldn't see. "For the sake of argument, let's say I can understand the security watch you put on Kiryk but your plan to prevent Dr. Keller and Dr. McKay from speaking privately – that's hardly about security."

"It could be," John muttered.

"You deny that this has anything to do with your feelings for Dr. McKay?"

"Geez," John said, "don't use the F-word."

"I'll do my best to remember that in the future, Colonel." Woolsey stood and smoothed the front of his jacket. The corner of his mouth twitched as he fought back a smile.

"Are we done?" John asked.

"Not quite yet. I think you can agree with me, Colonel, that Kiryk has earned the right for you to cut him a little slack."

"Ronon said the same thing." John leaned forward in his chair. "It's my job to keep Atlantis safe, Mr. Woolsey, and while Kiryk has proven to be an asset, I'm not sorry for being cautious."

"Point taken."

John started to rise from the chair when Woolsey held one finger up. "Not so quickly. We have one more item to discuss. Dr. Keller."

He remembered he was talking to his boss in the nick of time. Otherwise, John would have thrown his head back and rolled his eyes. "Go on."

"You are going to let Dr. Keller and Dr. McKay have a chance to talk privately, if that is what they want, with no interference from you. Don't give me that look, Colonel. This may turn out to be a good thing. As I understand it, people need closure to move on."

~*~

"All in all, I'd say this venture has been a success." Rodney stood up from his workbench and, hands on his hips, leaned backwards to stretch the kinks out.

John's ah-hummed response from the other side of the workbench sounded a little too vague for Rodney's satisfaction. 

"Is there a problem? Something you'd like to share with the class, John?"

"Nope."

"Jennifer and Kiryk are leaving this afternoon," Rodney said. "But I suppose you knew that."

"Yep."

Rodney pinched the bridge of his nose. This was far too reminiscent of those early days of getting to know John Sheppard, when pulling out words were akin to pulling out teeth. "There's something you're not telling me."

"Can't think of a thing."

"My god, John, you aren't harboring the misguided notion that Jennifer is still interested in me?"

"Course not." John crossed his arms over his chest and his chin lifted in a stubborn tilt that Rodney recognized.

"You're an idiot, John Sheppard. She doesn't want me. I don't think she ever did, not really. She's not about to drag me off now."

"You're sure?"

"John, just to make myself perfectly clear, I don't want her, either. I don't know that I really ever did."  
He got a brief, tight nod for an answer, but at least it seemed to clear the air.

Rodney hated to do it, to leave John sitting there alone in the lab to go meet with Jennifer, but John needed the closure more than he did. This entire conversation was proof of that. He paused in the doorway, casting one last look at John. He wondered all over again – what exactly had he said to John during their evenings on the pier? Sure, he'd had a few beers, but he wasn't that broken up when Jennifer had left. Hell, he'd never even kissed her. 

Yet…he must have said something to turn on John's protective instincts. Oh hell, he'd figure it out later. Or not. Maybe this was just part of who John Sheppard was, and Rodney wouldn't change him for the world. 

"Hey, John, when I'm done talking to Jennifer, do you want to meet on the south pier? You bring the beer and I'll tell you how badly I put my foot in my mouth. Because, if this turns into some kind of relationship talk, there's no way that's going to go well."

A glimmer of a smile touched the corner of John's mouth. "It'll be just like old times."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yeah, okay. But none of that fancy microbrew." John shook his finger at him. "You get what's in the fridge, and that's it."

Rodney left, feeling lighter of heart and ready to meet Jennifer head on. At least now, he'd find out what she wanted to talk to him about. He might be a genius, but women baffled the bejesus out of him.

He must have walked faster than he thought because he'd made it to the conservatory in record time. The greenery reminded him of Katie Brown and that particular relationship's crash and burn. For a moment, he wondered if Jennifer had planned it that way. Only briefly, and then Rodney realized what a ridiculous thought that was. The changes in Jennifer reflected a woman confident in herself, someone ready to step up to the challenge of new experiences. A woman who expected to succeed.

It was kind of hot in that Sam Carter-type way Rodney liked so much. The minute he saw her walk into the room, he knew. Even with her newfound confidence, Jennifer remained the same sweet girl she always was. As for himself, he'd changed, too. These days, his reality exceeded his fantasies in ways he never could have predicted and he was happier than he ever thought possible.

"Rodney?"

"Jennifer." Rodney stuck out his hand. 

She ignored it and gave him a hug, instead. "Oh," he said, feeling like an awkward twelve year old. "I didn't know we were hugging. Um…how've you been?"

She smiled. "I'm good. Thanks for asking. I just thought we should talk. After all, we're friends. I know I left without any proper good-bye but…we are still friends, right?"

"Of course we're friends, Jennifer. How could you think otherwise?"

"The way John has been acting, I wondered if you'd told him to keep me away from you." 

"Ah, well…" Rodney began, suddenly unsure of what to do with his hands. "There's something I should probably tell you. But, you know, that can wait. You had something you wanted to say to me, first?"

She squared her shoulders, took a deep breath, and began. "Let me start out by saying I'm sorry for leaving without saying good-bye. In my defense, I didn't expect to be gone more than a few days."

"Don't be sorry. Seriously, Jennifer, it's not like I spent any time pining over you."

"Oh." She looked slightly taken aback. "No pining. Good, then." 

"But, you and Kiryk… do I detect some chemistry there? Well? Aha! I'm not wrong. I have an intuitive sense about these things."

Jennifer reached out and stilled Rodney's waving hand. "You're not wrong," she said. "That's one of the things I wanted to talk to you about. I think we could have something, but we've been so busy. We just get one child settled in and he's off looking for another. 

"Not to mention," she continued, "Kiryk's not exactly what you'd call a big talker. Half of the time, I have no idea what he's thinking. The other half of the time, I think there could be something between us. But honestly, after I screwed up any chance of a relationship between you and me… I haven't known what to do. What if things look like they're going to work out between Kiryk and I, and then I just leave again?"

"What are you asking me? Let me rephrase. Jennifer, are you actually asking me for relationship advice?" 

She punched him in the arm. "No. Maybe. Or maybe I want your blessing."

"Ha! Really?"

"Don't let it go to your head," Jennifer admonished, crossing her arms over her chest. "I just thought…"

"Of course you can have my blessing! Jennifer," Rodney grew serious. "I know that you don't know this about me and I think you should. Just the fact that you liked me made me realize something. As bad with people as I am –" He waggled his finger in front of her face. "– uh-uh, don't deny it, you know it's true. 

"Here's the important part. You made me believe that I could be the kind of guy someone could love. Could fall in love with. That one thing opened possibilities up in my life in ways I never expected. So, you see, I should be thanking you."

"Oh, _Rodney_."

"And, I can give you some advice, too." Rodney reached for Jennifer's hand and held it cradled in both of his. "If you think you have something with Kiryk, try for it. Make time to understand each other. Make him talk, if you have to. I know that can be difficult, but find a way. Believe me, it will be worth it."

~*~

Jennifer Keller stood by the gate with several boxes of medical supplies and mixed feelings. She was proud of the work she'd done on Atlantis, but her heart wasn't in it any longer. Kiryk stepped up beside her, standing between her and the marines that would be helping at the Alpha site.

"Ready to go back?" Jennifer asked.

Kiryk didn't waste time with words. He picked up two of the boxes and nodded. 

"Tell me you liked the cake here, at least," she said, in an attempt to make Kiryk smile.

"It was good. You didn't get what you wanted, though. No school for the kids here."

"No, but we are getting all the help we need to set it up on the mainland. Plus, I've got a list of people who have already volunteered to be teachers. Mr. Woolsey wants to teach civil liberties but I told him it might be a little while before the kids were ready for that." She nudged her shoulder against him. "And you should be happy. You're going to get to keep doing what you're doing."

"I'm happy. Not just for that." Kiryk said.

"I think Ronon is a bad influence on you," she teased. "You're more monosyllabic than usual."

"It's not that." Kiryk turned to look her in the eyes. "I just don't know how to say this."

"Say it anyway," Jennifer encouraged, "I'm listening."

"I'm happy because you're coming back with me. I thought you might not. And…I'm just really glad you are." 

"I'm really glad I am, too." She shook a warning finger at him. "But don't think you're getting out of talking about that kiss."

"What kiss?" 

"The one you're going to give me, just as soon as we're alone."

"Oh, _that_ kiss." Kiryk grinned down at her. His eyes never left her face as he said, "Mr. Woolsey, we're ready to leave now."

"Very good," Woolsey said, sounding inordinately pleased. "Chuck, dial the gate."

As they waited for the event horizon to stabilize, Jennifer gave one last look at the faces around her.

Woolsey was holding up his hand. "Dr. Keller, a moment please before you step through?" In a few, quick strides, he joined her and Kiryk in front of the shimmering gate. 

"What is it?" she asked, wondering if there was some last minute protocol, she'd overlooked.

"You may not know this," Woolsey said, "but I am not just in charge of Atlantis. I'm also the resident Justice of the Peace. I just wanted to assure you that if, at some point in the future, you and Mr. Kiryk would like to exchange vows of matrimony, it would be my honor to officiate. In fact," he continued, "I would consider if quite the privilege, much as I did when I married Colonel Sheppard and Dr. McKay." 

"They're married?" 

"Yes. We had quite the ceremony for them right here in the gate room, once we returned from saving Earth." 

Jennifer looked wildly around, searching out John and Rodney. Rodney was giving her a tiny finger wave as he leaned back against John's shoulder. John had one arm thrown around Rodney and was holding up his dog tags with the other. Even from this distance, she could make out the gold wedding band hanging from its chain. "They're really married."

"Yes. I just said that."

"Mr. Woolsey, I'll think about your offer, but it's a little too early to make those sort of plans." She nudged Kiryk in the side with her elbow. "Tell him it's too early, Kiryk."

"Depends," Kiryk said. "This wedding stuff, isn't there usually cake?" Jennifer wanted to roll her eyes, but before she could say anything, he dropped the boxes he'd been holding and swung her up into his arms. "Mr. Woolsey, you hold onto that offer and we'll get back to you."

"Kiryk!" Jennifer squealed. Arms around his neck she peeked over his shoulder at John and Rodney. "Wow. Everything makes so much more sense now."

As Kiryk stepped up to the event horizon, Jennifer said, "I still can't believe they're mar-mmmph."

~*~

**Author's Note:**

> I always felt there was a surprising amount of chemistry between Jennifer Keller and Kiryk. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to explore one small corner of that.


End file.
